The pen is mightier than the sword, they say — but how does it compare to a federal injunction?

This past Wednesday was Stem Cell Awareness Day, though it’s hard to not be aware of the field in the US, where an ongoing court case has left 1,300 jobs and more than $200 million of research funding hanging in legal limbo.

In order to generate stem cell awareness of a more positive strain, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), the $3 billion stem cell research arm of the Golden State, organized a poetry contest. The winners were announced on Wednesday. (CIRM’s funding is not affected by the federal injuction, but the agency estimates that up to a fifth of the researchers that it funds also hold NIH grants for human embryonic stem cell research.)

A complete list of poems from the winners and finalists can be seen on CIRM’s website. After the jump, you can read a poem from one of the winners. Andy Levy wrote his offering in honor of his daughter, who has juvenile-onset diabetes:

“Birth, Rebirth”

One cell, followed by many more

The mosaic forms a new life

A young child will freely soar

Yet untouched by sadness or strife.

The cells divide, and we behold

Newborn, toddler and then a teen

Innocence turns to loud and bold

A movie, never before seen.

With all the world in front of her

She runs, she flies, and shows her flair

But all these things become a blur

When she learns life is so unfair.

Trouble now looms down deep inside

When all those cells begin to fail

There is no place to run and hide

When the body becomes a jail.

She deserves a much better fate

Science and chemistry are key

Make healthy cells regenerate

And give her back her destiny.

Despair gives way to passion

And she demonstrates strength and grace

We are driven to take action

At a steady frenetic pace.

Together we can change the course

With lots of hard work to be sure

New stem cells will provide the source

Of discoveries yielding a cure.

Image by b1gw1ight via Flickr Creative Commons